Lost and Found
by SSAEmilyHotchner
Summary: After being shot by an unsub, Hotch is hospitalized due to a severe lack of oxygen to the brain. Once he comes out of his coma, will he still remember everything? Or will all those memories remain lost forever?
1. Prologue

Author's Note: I must have been depressed when I wrote this. You'll see why. But, needless to say, I don't take pleasure from killing off my characters. So...here you go! Hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or any of its characters.

* * *

"Aaron! Aaron, open your eyes! Please…Aaron!" Emily screamed, shaking her husband's shoulders and trying to ignore the quickly growing blood stain on his crisp white shirt.

"Emily…" he murmured faintly, oblivious to the sound of the nearing ambulances. He extended his hand weakly and grasped her with it, holding onto her like a lifeline. "Tell Jack…about me and…and you. Tell him all of our stories…and…how we fell in love. Please," he rasped.

"No," she said between thick tears. "You'll tell him. _You _will. Don't give up, Aaron. Please hold on. For one more minute," she sobbed.

"And…tell the baby…how much I love her. Or him," he whispered, reaching forward to caress Emily's swollen stomach.

"Stop it!" she exclaimed. "Stop acting as if you're about to die! You won't. You can't," she added, her voice breaking.

"I love you so much, Emily," he choked out, as his vision went black and he felt himself being lifted up by the EMTs.

The last things he heard were the heartbreaking sound of his wife crying and the sound of his best friend saying, "Come on, Em. I'll give you a ride."

Then, the ambulance he was in drove off, and everything faded away.


	2. Chapter One: Officer Down

Author's Note: *sarcasm* This chapter doesn't contain some major foreshadowing... (cough) Anyway, sorry about the length of the chapters. They're all going to be kind of (REALLY) short because this story isn't something that is going to go on forever. Still, I hope you like it! :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or any of its characters.

* * *

Emily gazed at the comatose man lying on the hospital bed in front of her. Unconsciously, she took one of his hands in hers and kissed it, her mind going in to overdrive as she thought back to what happened.

~.~.~

"Aaron, for God's sake, put on the damn Kevlar vest," Emily said for the umpteenth time.

He sighed. "Em, I told you, we're trying to look as unassertive and nonthreatening as possible. A bulletproof vest that says 'FBI' in large white letters doesn't exactly help."

She rolled her eyes at her stubborn husband. "Then put it underneath your dress shirt."

"Now you're just trying to get me to take my clothes off," he teased.

"Aaron, I'm serious. You wouldn't let me go in there without a vest, now would you?" Emily pointed out.

"No. You're pregnant. I don't even understand why I'm letting you do field duty," he added.

"Isn't that a bit sexist?"

He paused. "Nope. Not at all."

"Aaron…" she groaned.

He leaned forward and gave her a quick kiss. "Stop worrying about me. I'll be fine, sweetheart."

She bit her lip. "Are you sure?"

He smiled. "Of course I'm sure."

"Shouldn't one of us come with you?"

"I can handle it. All of you will come in once I have him placated, anyway."

Giving up, Emily sighed. "Alright, alright. Just be careful."

"Trust me, Emmy. I will."

But barely minutes later, the team heard the unmistakable sound of gunfire and Dave led them in, Emily right behind, yelling, "Shots fired! Shots fired!"

~.~.~

Emily was jolted out of her reverie as she felt Aaron's hand give hers a squeeze.

"Aaron? Are…are you awake?"

Slowly, his eyes fluttered open.

"A punctured lung," the doctor had diagnosed. That same bullet had ricocheted off a rib – which was now broken – and pierced his central aorta, causing the blood flow to stop, which then caused a severe lack of oxygen to the brain. And without asking, Emily knew what that meant.

Memory loss.

Well, potential memory loss. Emily thought otherwise. She had always been a bit of an optimist.

Kind of.

"Aaron?" she repeated.

His gaze landed on her, and Emily saw his eyes narrow slightly in confusion as he asked, "Who…who are you?"

* * *

Author's Note: Thanks so much for reading! Reviews are greatly appreciated. :)


	3. Chapter Two: Amnesia

Author's Note: I realize I'm not that great with all the doctoral stuff, but please bear with me. Also? Hotch's brain isn't totally screwed up. Since all of these chapters are fairly short (sorry about that...), his memory loss is not as serious as it could be. So, PLEASE keep reading, and reviews would absolutely make my day. :) Thanks a-bunches!

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or any of its characters.

* * *

The doctor had been right.

Emily fought back her tears. "Emily," she answered. "Emily Prentiss-Hotchner."

"Hotchner…" he mumbled. "Why does that name sound familiar?"

"Because it's your last name." Emily analyzed his expression, watching as his gaze landed on their wedding rings and realization dawned on him.

"You…you're my wife?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

She nodded, unable to do or say anything else.

Then his eyes travelled to her stomach, which was housing her –_their - _unborn child. "And…you're pregnant?"

"Yes," she managed. "You also have a six year old son named –"

"Jack," he interrupted unsurely.

Emily was surprised. "What else do you remember?"

"Jack's mother is…dead. I don't know how, though." He looked up at her, a question dancing in his eyes.

Emily hesitated. He deserved to know – after all, it was his memory – but he didn't deserve the stress that came with the horrible story. Right as she was about to explain, however, he gasped.

"What on earth happened?" he asked, and Emily saw him tracing the multiple scars on his chest.

"It has to do with Haley's – your ex-wife's – death." Emily paused, unsure of how to begin. "She was killed by a serial killer who was dead set on revenge."

"Revenge? Against who?"

"You. For what you did – or rather, didn't do – on his case."

"What do you mean, 'on his case?'"

"We both work at the FBI," she explained. "We caught Foyet – that was his name – and he wanted to make a deal in which he would stop taking lives if you stopped looking for him. Naturally, you saw all the flaws in that plan and adamantly refused. He later escaped prison, attacked you in your apartment…" she motioned towards his chest, "and achieved his personal vendetta by…by stalking and murdering Haley. Then you killed him."

Aaron was quiet. "I'm sorry," he finally said.

"For what?"

"For not remembering. I want to. But it's like there's this wall in the back of my mind, blocking all of my memories," he admitted. "This is going to sound crazy to you, but all my memories…it's like they're so close but so far. Like they're locked in a box somewhere, in some proverbial lost and found…but I can't reach it. It's barely an inch out of my reach…" he said, his voice fading away.

Emily frowned. "It's not your fault; you can't help it." She sighed quietly. "You have nothing to be sorry about."

"Yeah…" he said absentmindedly.

They spent the next few hours discussing what had happened, talking to the team, and sharing past events, hoping to jumpstart his memory.

Just when it seemed like nothing was working, Jessica and Jack entered the room and Aaron's face lit up.

"Daddy!" the young boy exclaimed, running over to the bed.

Aaron reached forward and enveloped his son in a hug. "Hey, Buddy," he said, pressing a kiss in the boy's sandy blonde hair. Looking up at the woman who had just entered the room, he added, "Hey, Jessica." Then he paused and turned to Emily. "I remembered," he whispered, shock written into his handsome features.

Emily couldn't help but smile.

* * *

Author's Note: Oh and...HAPPY THANKSGIVING! I hope you all had a wonderful Turkey Day with your friends and family, and let me just say that I am so thankful to be part of such a wonderful community in which I am surrounded by such talented and friendly people. You guys rock my world. :D


	4. Chapter Three: Feel Good

Author's Note: Again- I am not at all accurate with all the medical stuff. That much I know. But thanks anyway for reading! It REALLY means a lot. Hope you enjoy this chapter; the epilogue should be uploaded soon!

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or any of its characters.

* * *

Five days had passed and Aaron's memory was still missing in action. It was late on Saturday evening; Jack was already asleep, and the married couple was playing an odd version of "20 Questions." Of course, Aaron was doing all of the asking.

"So, I have a brother?"

Emily nodded. "His name is Sean."

"Tell me something about him."

"Hmm…" Emily leaned back against the couch. "He works as a chef. He's five years younger than you and has the tendency to act extremely immature. But you love him," she added.

"Do you have a picture of him?" Aaron asked, anxiously leaning forward in his seat.

Emily answered by placing a large album in his hands and sitting by him. Opening it to the first picture, she pointed to a tall man standing in the middle of a wedding procession. "There he is."

Aaron was silent as he flipped through the rest of the captured moments, stopping when he came across one of Emily in his arms, their lips locked, as he carried her towards the limousine. He murmured something unintelligible, then closed the album.

"What is it?" Emily asked softly.

He looked at her for a long time before saying, "I want to kiss you."

Emily took his hand and offered a small smile. "Then kiss me."

He paused, however. "I just feel so awkward. I mean, you're my wife. I shouldn't feel so…closed off. But it's as if I'm a different person, you know? I want to remember. I want to remember our honeymoon, every single second of it. I want to remember how I felt when Jack was born, how I felt when…when I laid eyes on you for the first time. I want to know you. And I can see what I'm missing. It hurts. It _really_ hurts."

"Then I know a way to make it stop hurting," Emily whispered.

"How?" he whispered back, as if challenging her.

"Like this," she said, before leaning forward and gently pressing her lips to his.

He slowly responded, tangling his fingers in her hair and kissing her even deeper. "Oh, Emily…" he murmured as she slipped her honey-sweet tongue into his mouth to mate with his.

She sighed contently as he moved to hover above her. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pulled him down once more. "Didn't the doctor tell you to stay away from strenuous activities?" she teased.

He smiled ever-so-slightly. "Whatever. You're just too beautiful, Emmy," he said, unconsciously using her old nickname.

Her heart skipped a beat. Was his memory coming back? She hoped so.

"And you feel so good…" he continued, his lips trailing towards her neck.

She couldn't help the flirty grin that graced her face. "Hmm…we haven't even gotten started yet, baby…" she purred. "Just you wait. By the end of tonight, I'll make sure you feel _even better_."


	5. Epilogue

Author's Note: So here it is. The end. I know it's not the best possible ending, but I couldn't think of anything else to add. Oh well. Please tell me what you think! I'm always open to constructive critism, and well...if there's something you would like to see happen in the epilogue, I just might write a second ending... :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or any of its characters.

* * *

Aaron trailed his fingers up and down Emily's spine, soaking in her beauty. Even at four months into her pregnancy, her body was still absolutely perfect. He didn't want to wake her - not yet, at least. For now, he needed some time to think.

Although he knew it hadn't, it seemed as if everything had happened so...fast. He had a son - and another child on the way. He had friends and family he almost didn't recognize, and it pained him. And above all, he had a wife. A beautiful wife with whom he had experienced so much. But it was like all of that was missing. Like it was all...

...gone.

He shook his head to clear it. That wasn't the complete truth. He was remembering things more often now, and although his memory wasn't as perfect as it had been, he had been recounting small details lately, much to Emily's happiness.

His eyes once again travelled to the sleeping woman beside him. _His wife_. He still couldn't believe his luck. He watched as her rose colored lips parted ever-so-slightly, a sigh passing through them. Unconsciously, Aaron smiled as his mind wandered to the moments they had shared just last night. She had amazed him too many times to count, and he knew, without a doubt, that she was someone special. Even if this all seemed new to him, he _knew_ that she contained the other half of his heart.

He knew - unquestionably - that he loved her more than anything else in the world.

"Emily," he whispered, kissing her shoulder blade softly.

She awoke seconds later, sensual lethargy very present in her expressive brown eyes. "Aaron," she replied sleepily. "What mischievous acts are you up to now?"

He chuckled. "Oh nothing," he answered, his actions proving otherwise as he intertwined their legs and pulled her to lie on top of his chest. "You're just too gorgeous."

She slapped him playfully. "Stop saying that."

He cocked an eyebrow. "But baby, it's true. You look just as beautiful as you did when you were heading off to college. Yale, right?"

He paused, not noticing how wide Emily's eyes were.

"And then that day when I stole a kiss from you in your mother's office…" he continued. "I don't think I ever got that kiss out of my mind."

Emily was stunned. "Aaron…" she said breathlessly. "Listen to yourself."

"What?" he asked innocently.

"You remembered. That was twenty years ago!" she beamed. "What else do you remember?" she asked eagerly.

It took him a while before he could give an honest answer. "Everything."

**THE END.**


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